欧美文化:Ukrainian, Finnish presidents meet on security issues

KIEV, Jan. 24 (Xinhua) -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his visiting Finnish counterpart Sauli Niinisto discussed security issues during their meeting in Kiev on Tuesday.

Zelensky and Niinisto talked about regional security, the issues that directly affect the security of Ukraine and Finland, and bilateral defense cooperation, said a statement on the Ukrainian presidential website.

Zelensky thanked Finland for providing 12 defense assistance packages for Ukraine and helping in restoring Ukraine's energy sector after the Russian strikes.

The Ukrainian president informed his Finnish counterpart about the current situation at the frontline of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

"We also discussed Finland's participation in the coalition of countries aimed to provide Ukraine with modern Western tanks," Zelensky said.

For his part, Niinisto informed that Finland has provided assistance worth almost 600 million euros (about 653 million U.S. dollars) for Ukraine and has sheltered about 50,000 Ukrainian citizens.

During their talks, the parties also touched upon the issues of Ukraine's European and Euro-Atlantic integration and exchanged their views on the Ukrainian Peace Formula proposed by Zelensky in November 2022.

Niinisto arrived in Ukraine earlier in the day for his first visit since the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.